Shadows of the Past

by Obi Wan Kepony

Rating: teen
Tags: Dark
Length: 14331

Pinkie's past that she ran away from comes back to haunt her.

Pinkie Pie had built a life of fun and laughter in Ponyville that made her almost forget her troubled past. But when strange and disturbing events begin to happen around Ponyville, Pinkie is forced to confront her dark past while her friends try to protect her and the rest of the town.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-05-15 20:15:56 UTC

Chapter 1

Under the full moon, the Pie family rock farm looked like a ghostly and barren landscape.  The cold and biting wind howled through the drafty farmhouse that lay on the north-western side of the property.  The structure was almost as barren as the landscape—painted in grays and blacks that the moon-light accentuated.  The Pie family believed in a plain life—and it showed in their landscaping outside, and their décor inside.  No fancy ornamentation graced the walls.   No exotic patterns on the furniture or rugs.  If it was not practical, it was not necessary.  The furniture, the rugs, the linens, the décor, was plain and simple.  That was good enough for the Pie family as it had been for generations.

The bright moon poured its light through every window on the western side of the abode—casting ethereal shadows throughout the homestead.  In a small room on the top floor, a young pink filly lay in her bed, quietly sobbing.

"...why does this always happen...to me*sniff*...I try so hard...*sniff*"

Memories of the day flooded her mind as she tried to sleep.  She struggled to regain her composure.  She didn’t want her family to hear her—especially her sister.  She was still bruised and sore from their confrontation earlier that day.  She rubbed her shoulder in an attempt to massage away the pain.  She wondered why her mother and her other sister never intervened—why they just stood by and let things happen to her. Why her father blamed her for what she did.

"...I just wish I could get out of this place...*sob*..."

She put her hooves up to her face and began to pray that something would change...that something would break and she could be free of this life of drudgery and hard, physical labor—broken up only by the fits of insanity that her sister caused.  Her straight pink hair fell around her face as she tried hard to focus and control her emotions.

Then she heard it.

CLINK!

"What was that!?" she said in a half whisper.  Her eyes darted around the room searching for the source.

Again...CLINK-CLANK.

Something was hitting the window.

Pinkamena got out of her bed, her curiosity staying her emotion for the time being.  She carefully moved toward the window.  She peered out into the moon bathed rock fields searching for whatever it was hitting her window.  The light gave the dreary fields an almost mystical quality...

CLINK!

"AH!" she gasped.   She looked out again and found the source. A handsome young earth colt with a dark blue coat and white mane gazed up at her window with a hoof-full of rocks—the source of all of the racket.  Her only friend in the community—Blue Waters—had come to pay her another visit.  As their eyes connected, a small smile began to form across Pinkamena's face.  She opened the window.

"HEY PIN--" he began to shout

"SHHHHH!" Pinkamena chastised.  "They'll hear you!  I'm already in enough trouble as it is tonight!" she stated in a hushed tone.

"Oh...” said Blue, “…well, can I come up anyway?" He asked in a barely audible whisper.

"Only if you're quiet about it..."

"Okay."

He began to climb the trellis next to the porch roof that was just under her window--just as he had done so many times before.  He came by about once or twice a week would stay up talking with Pinkamena, or showing her how to draw the most beautiful pictures.  She kept these sketches under a loose floorboard by the window—a secret talisman to guard against the world outside her house—as well as the one within.

As he climbed, Pinkamena thought about how much his friendship meant to her.  She found it fascinating that he always knew when to come by--whenever she was sad or lonely--it was like he knew that she needed a friend at that moment.  Blue would always come by and cheer her up.  Maybe he heard from his father—who was close friends with her father—that she was feeling sad, lonely, or afraid.

He was finally at the window

"Quiet enough for ya’?" he whispered as he climbed through the portal into her room.

"Perfect." She whispered as she began to give the smallest of smiles. "What are we doing tonight?"

She always asked this.  Every time the answer was different.  Sometimes they drew pictures or put puzzles together.  Sometimes they would make a fort out of blankets and pillows and read books he would bring by.  Sometimes they snuck out and played tag or hide and seek in the rock fields.

But tonight would be different.

“Well, Pink,” he said, “my dad and I were talking tonight about your…uh, troubles with your sister, Isabelle…and uh…” He wasn’t looking at her.  It was almost as if he couldn’t bring himself to look at her.

“Blue, are you okay?” she asked.  A look of concern began to grow over your face.  “Did Isabelle say something...Or do something?  Don’t worry about her; she’s just not right in the he—”

"Pink," Blue Waters cut her off, "I got something I gotta' tell ya', but it won't be easy."  He was beginning to choke up.  A tear began to form at the corner of his eye.

"Blue, it's okay. No matter what it is, you know you can tell me anything.  What's going on?"  A sliver of fear began to pierce her heart.  Something was very wrong with her dearest friend.

"I don't know how to tell you this, Pink, but I...uh...that is..."

"Go on..."

"Pink, I can't come by here anymore.  Your mom and dad had a long talk with my dad this afternoon, and told me I wasn't welcome here—‘specially after what happened this afternoon. What’s more is that my dad has also told me never to come here again…said something was very wrong with Isabelle and for my own safety, I was to stay away from here.”

Her heart sank to the pit of her stomach.  "But...I don't... *sniff*...understand.....why..." she sputtered as fresh, hot tears began to fill her eyes.

"Pink, I'm not finished yet.  There's something else."

"What?" She sniffled.  She felt as if she had been punched in the gut.  She couldn’t catch her breath.

"Pink, I want you to come with me and get out of this place."

"I...wait, what?" she questioned with a surprised tone.

"I'm getting out of here and I want you to come with me…we got to get away from here before she does anymore harm to us."

"I....but, I..."she stammered

"Pinkamena, this might be our last chance to get out of here before something really bad happens and..."

"Something bad already has happened!" she chanced at raising her voice a bit.  "Don’t you get it?!  I'm the one who has to live here in this nightmare!"

"Then come with me.  You may be living in this nightmare, but you’re not the only one affected by it. Get some things you'll need and we can leave tonight.”

“Blue, I can’t just leave the rest of my family because of my little sister’s…episodes.”

“Those aren’t just ‘episodes’ as you call them.  Someday, somepony is going to get hurt…and I can’t bear to think that it could be you.  Please come with me.”

“And where would we go?” she badgered, “We don’t have any money and we don’t know anyone outside of the community…for Celestia’s sake, we’re just kids!”

“I know some folks in Ponyville—good people…run a bakery.  There’s also my cousin in Canterlot, friends in Fillydelphia, and of course my brother in Seaddle.”

“...like we could make it to Seaddle!” She retorted. “This is crazy, Blue!  It’s not practical—you don’t even have a real plan!”

“Well, Pink, sometimes you gotta’ be a little spontaneous,” he said with a grin and a wink.  That same grin and wink had usually convinced her to go with his hair-brained schemes…

Usually, but this was asking too much.

“Blue,” she looked down at the moon-lit floorboards, “I…just…*sniff*…can’t…”  Tears began to stream down her cheeks.

She wanted to go…desperately wanted to escape this life and begin anew.  But she couldn’t.  She couldn’t just leave her family behind to deal with her sister’s ‘condition.’

“Alright then,” he replied in a resigned tone, “but, I can’t stay around here and watch this continue.”  He was trying to contain his own tears.  “I’m leaving for Ponyville tonight to meet up with my friends there. I’ll be there for about two weeks working on a farm to raise money to catch the train to Appleoosa.  If you change your mind, I will wait for you there.”

Blue made his way back to the window.  He looked back at Pinkamena, and saw the stresses of the world weighing her down.  He walked back to her and hugged her tightly.  She could feel his tears mingling with hers.

And then, he was gone.  Out the window and fading into the shadows of the moon-lit night.

One week later, Pinkamena saw the most spectacular rainbow exploding through the sky…

…

“Whaddaya mean, denied?!?!” Rainbow Dash’s voice erupted throughout the office.  “Did you not see that sonic rainboom last week?  Everypony has been talking about it—heck, you not only should let me in, you should make me Captain!!!”

“As I have explained, Ms. Dash,” the clerk—dressed in a drab outfit that matched the drab interior of the government office explained, “There are strict and strenuous requirements for becoming a member of the Wonderbolts.  They are Equestria’s most elite Pegasus Ponies and only after years of grueling military training are a small few hand picked by Princess Celestia herself.  Your application has been denied based upon the fact that you are too young for active service in the Equestrian Royal Air Force, and your flight record is…uh…‘questionable’ at best.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?!?!”  Dash’s voice rang out through the countless rows of standardized government cubicles.  Quite a few heads popped out from behind their drab-gray cubicle walls to see what the commotion was about.

“According to your instructors and other references you put down on your application, you are hot-tempered, lazy, self-centered, undisciplined, and very reckless—traits that are not becoming of a future member of the Equestrian military, much less the Wonderbolts.”

Dash was fuming.  She could feel her blood-pressure rising and pulsating in her ears.  She had done what so many said was impossible—A sonic rainboom!  She was sure it was her ticket in with the Wonderbolts.  What other pony in all of Equestria could fly faster than the speed of sound?  Surely the Equestrian military had a use for that!  And now, all her hopes of glory were being trampled by some government bureaucrat at the Cloudsdale Office of Career Development!!!  There had to be some other way.

“There’s got to be some way in for such a gifted pony as myself!!!  Isn’t there some kind of loophole or something for highly talented Pegasus Ponies?”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Dash, but we do have to abide within the confines of this policy.  You need more flight time, and you need more positive references that will speak to your own personal integrity.”

“…how many more?”

“Five to be exact.  But the more the better.  You need to look at this as building a case as to why the Royal Air Force should let you in and put you into tryouts for the Wonderbolts.”

“So, what do I do now?” She asked.

“Well,” started the clerk, “We just had a new position open up in Ponyville for weather-ponies.  I think it might be a great fit for you, and might just be your ticket to bigger things.” The clerk attempted a small smile as she slid a yellow sheet of paper with the title “Ponyville Meteorological Department of Weather Control”…

“Seriously?” an unenthusiastic Rainbow Dash stated.

“Yes…is there something wrong?” said the clerk, still trying to fake a grin.

“You want me to go to some back-woods, middle of nowhere town like Ponyville and be their sky janitor?”

“It is a good position that will build some discipline into you,” she said curtly.  “Listen, I don’t have to help you, you know.  I could give you an assignment cleaning sewers in Manehatten.  But along with the disparaging marks on your record, there is also a great deal of comments such as, ‘has great potential,’ and ‘could be top of her class…if she applied herself.’ ” These ponies believe in you, they just seem to wish you would take yourself more seriously.  And honestly, I like your spunk.  You got spirit, kid, and I think that if you do this and give it time, it really will take you places.”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Fine…but I need to know two things, when can I re-apply and what do you need from me when I do?”

“Give it a few years.  At that time I will need all the information you provided me today, plus the five references detailing why you should be accepted.  If you are selected into the Air Force and are found to be eligible to try out for the Wonderbolts, you will be put through the most demanding training regimen ever required of a Pegasus Pony.  Even then, few make the cut.  You have to be the best of the best.”

“Well, I’m 20% better than that!!!  I’ll take this position in Ponyville, and I’ll show you all!  When I come back in a few years, I’m going to be an aviation rock-star! You haven’t heard the last of Rainbow Dash!”

With that, Dash took the paper detailing the assignment and flew out the door, back home to pack her things.

…

The brakes of the train screeched in protest as the steam engine came to a slow stop at the Ponyville station early that spring morning.  Steam filled the platform, giving an ominous glow to the travelers waiting for their turn to board the express to its next stop in Canterlot.  Feeling extremely excited and nervous at the same time, Pinkamena stepped off the train.  It was the first step into a new life for her.

“Excuse me,” she asked a porter, “I need to find a farm that is somewhere around this town—a friend of mine is waiting for me there.”

“…plenty of farms ‘round these parts, ma’am.” The porter was friendly, but answered in a sleepy voice that indicated he had just started his shift.  “…there’s the Sunshine Honey Ranch, the Burst Blueberry Farm, Sweet Apple Acres, Cherry Berry’s Cherry Orchard…probably ten or twelve more…know which one your looking for?”

“Wow...heh…” she said with a nervous smile, “that’s a lot of farms.”  She paused. She had never been outside of the community before.  She hadn’t planned on finding Blue Waters to be so difficult.  And then, she remembered…

“Hey!  Is there a super-amazing bakery in town?” Super-amazing? She thought… Where did that come from?

“Well, there’s Mr. and Mrs. Cake’s place—Sugarcube Corner…”

“Can you tell me how to get there?”

As the porter pony began to describe how to get to the bakery, she noticed through the fog and haze a pony with a blue coat having a very animated conversation with the porter at the Visitor Information Kiosk.

Could it be?  Blue?

She started walking toward the Kiosk—oblivious to the fact that she had left the porter spouting off directions to the air.  She was walking faster now—so happy that she had found him so quickly.  She couldn’t wait to tell him everything that had happened in the past few weeks.  All the changes she needed to tell him about—her mane being the least of them.

She was within mere feet when all of the sudden, the blue pony’s wings shot out as the conversation became more intense.  It was then she realized her mistake—a filly, not a colt—and a Pegasus Pony—was carrying on this excited exchange with the bored porter behind the counter.

“…and I could feel the air bending around me, like the sky was electrified, and then it happened…a SONIC RAINBOOM!”  The filly’s multi-colored mane and tail were swishing around with her hoof gestures of her pulling out of a dive and a whooshing back into the atmosphere.

“Uh-huh,” said the clerk.

“So, surely you could point such an awesome aviation rock-star such as myself to the best lodgings in town and hook me up with a discount or something?” She grinned as she concluded her story to the less-than-impressed porter who was now flipping through the want ads in the Ponyville Daily Report.

“Don’t know about that.  I do know Mr. and Mrs. Cake are renting some rooms in their bakery.  Might be a good place to crash ‘til you get a place of your own.”  He held up the paper to show her the ad.

“Hey, that’s perfect!  Listen, when I’m famous and soaring with the Wonderbolts, I’ll hook you up with some free tickets whenever we’re in town!”

“Uh-huh…” the porter said as he went back to his paper.

“Hey! Did he say Mr. and Mrs. Cake’s?”  Pinkamena excitedly asked the stranger, “‘cause, that’s where I’m headed too!”

“Yeah…need a place to stay until I get settled here and find something more permanent…just came in from Cloudsdale.  Name’s Rainbow Dash—perhaps you’ve heard of me…”she said with an overconfident smile.

“Uh…no.  But, I’m new here too and need a place to stay.  It just so happens I’m looking for Sugarcube corner.  Maybe we can room together!”

“Sounds like a plan.  By the way, what’s your name?”

“Pinka….” Something stalled in her.  Her name was a connection to the boring former life that was interrupted with moments of unspeakable terrors she had fought so hard to leave.

“Pinkie.  Pinkie Pie.” She liked the sound of that.  It sounded fun.  Spontaneous.

Well Pink, sometimes you gotta be a little spontaneous…she could hear Blue say.

“Well Pinkie, let’s go find this bakery and get settled into this town.”

“You know what we should do?”

“What’s that?”

“Once we’re settled in, let’s throw a SUPERAMAZINGFANTASTIC PAAARTY!!!!”

“Hey that sounds great.  Maybe in a few weeks, once we meet some other ponies we can have a small get together…”

That night, over one-hundred ponies packed Sugarcube Corner for Pinkie’s first party in Ponyville.

…

To be continued…

Chapter 2

“Twilight, I don’t understand, what’s the rush anyway?”  Fluttershy was getting frustrated.  The entire day it seemed like everypony was trying to keep her out of town.  All of her friends were showing up at coincidental times to make sure she was kept out of the town square.  Now, tonight, Twilight Sparkle was doing everything she could to get her into the town square.

“You’ll see…” Twilight said. They had just entered the town limits and were headed toward the square, when Fluttershy turned and looked back toward her house.

“But I have to feed the chickens and tuck Angel in for his bedtime. Then I have to make sure all my cutsie-wootsie nocturnal friends are up for their breakfast and exercises, and then—”

“Fluttershy!” Twilight shouted—beginning to get a little frustrated herself, “I got Sweetie Belle to take care of that for you.  This is really important!”

“Okay, Twilight…but does Sweetie Belle know about the mouse family’s medicine.  They were awful sick last week and—”

“It’s FINE, OKAY?!”

The two argued back and forth until they reached the square.  All the storefront lights and street lights were turned off for the night.

“Twilight, it’s so dark…what’s going on?  Twilight?”

But Twilight had disappeared.  Fluttershy was all alone in the darkened street.

“Twilight?”  She was beginning to get a little frightened.

“Twilight?  Where are you?  I think I want to go back home now!”

There was metallic CLANK—then a huge beam of light shone down on her—temporarily blinding her.  As she raised her hoof to cover her eyes, an amplified voice began to echo through the square.

“Mares and stallions, fillies and gentlecolts, ponies of all ages, welcome to FLUTTERSHY’S BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!”

All the lights in the town square cut on and everypony in Ponyville surrounded Fluttershy, shouting “SURPRISE!!!”  Fireworks exploded in the skies above and a laser light show began in the smoke they left.  Banners and Balloons were hung all over the town square.  Huge speakers began to pulsate with the sound of dance music.  Multi-colored lights twirled and spun through the square as ponies filled a make-shift dance floor and began jamming to the beat.

“Welcome Ponyville!!! DJ Pon-3 is in tha’ HOUSE mixin’ up some funky-fresh beats for the dazzling denizens of PONYVILLE!!!  As we get this party started, a special shout out goes to the one who put this celebration together—Ponyville’s one and only princess of the party, the one who puts the ‘fun’ in tha’ funk…the one and only PINKIE PIE!!!”

Cheers erupted from the crowd as DJ Pon-3 began leading the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday.” Pinkie ran out from behind the DJ booth and embraced Fluttershy. “Oh wow, I’m so excited, are you excited? Were you surprised?!?!”

Fluttershy was at a loss for words, “I…uh…I…”

Pinkie looked concerned, “You like it, don’t you?”

“Well, yes, I…that is…uh…thank you, Pinkie…it’s the best birthday surprise…ever…” she said shyly.

“That’s GREAT!!! I’m so super-excited, come with me and we’ll get some cake!!! WHOOO-HOOO!!!!”  Pinkie grabbed Fluttershy and the two began to make their way toward a table with all kinds of baked goods from Sugarcube corner.

Twilight Sparkle looked on and smiled. Mission accomplished she thought.  Now, she needed to find her faithful assistant, Spike.  As she scanned the crowd pulsating with the rhythm of speakers, she thought to herself, I didn’t know this many ponies lived in Ponyville. She couldn’t see where Spike was, but she did see where he would be eventually.

Rarity.

Rarity was fairly easy to find.  She was wearing the latest and most extravagant hat and scarf from her autumn lineup.  The mannequins in the Carousel Boutique all had a different version of this outfit for a week now.  Rarity’s orange scarf was peppered with topaz stones and her burnt sienna hat was graced with sapphires and diamonds—all of which glittered mesmerizingly in the lasers and colored lights.  She was standing near the fountain talking with Rainbow Dash when Twilight caught her eye.

“Twilight, darling,” Rarity said as she and Rainbow Dash walked toward Twilight, “isn’t this about the most festive event Pinkie has ever put on?  So much detail and trouble put into this occasion.  One wonders how she will top herself for her next event!”

“Yeah, it’s really great!  Another amazing Pinkie Pie production!  By the way, Rarity, have you seen Spike around?”

“Yes,” Rarity replied, “As a matter of fact, I wanted to discuss with you Spike’s…how shall we say…interest in me.  I must admit, I find his affections toward me sweet at times, but he is, after all a dragon—and a baby one at that…oh Twilight, could you please talk to him? It would be so much easier coming from you.  I would hate to break his heart, but he has to learn to seek his own kind, don’t you agree?  Even if it were, ahem, possible, we are from different worlds. So, please Twilight, do be a dear and explain it to him.”

“Rar,” Twilight said with a raised eyebrow, “I think you need to be the one to tell him.  It’s not like I’m his mother.  And besides, if you tell him, he may be crushed at first.  But at least you were the one who would have been honest with him.  He will respect you for that.  If I tell him, then he’ll feel betrayed by you and will never respect you again.”

“Twilight’s right,” Dash chimed in, “Spike’s a good guy.  He deserves the truth from the ponies’ mouth.”

As they were debating the issue, Applejack walked up with Big Macintosh. “Hey, what are y’all talking’ about?”

“Rarity’s gonna’ break Spike’s heart.” Dash chuckled.

“It’s not funny, Dash,” Twilight retorted, “Rarity, you don’t have to tell him tonight, but do tell him…”

“Fine,” Rarity replied, “but not tonight…tonight, I need to display this new chapeau I’ve created for the fall.  It’s going to be all the rage in Canterlot! One wonderful thing about these festive events our dear Pinkie puts together—they are superb ways to network and market one’s business. Ta-ta girls.” She turned and began to walk back toward the crowd.

“Wait, Rarity!  Where did you see Spike last?  I’ve got to go over our pre-post-party checklist with him.”

“Oh, last I saw him he was talking with Applebloom outside of Sugarcube Corner.”  With that she trotted away.

Twilight sighed.  Part of her wanted to get her list done.  Another part wanted to just relax and spend time with her friends.

“Hey A.J., Big Mac, enjoying the party?”

“Eeyup.” said Big Mac in his usual tone.

“Great party,” Applejack said, “Pinkie sure pulled off another winner, I reckon…ain’t that right, Big Mac?” Big Macintosh did not respond.  Instead, he began to make his way through the dancers toward the food table.

“Big Mac!” Applejack shouted, “We ate before we left!”

Oblivious, Big Mac kept walking toward the table.

“I don’t think he’s interested in the food.” Rainbow Dash stated.

“Come again?” She turned to gave Dash a confused look.

“Oh c’mon, A.J.  He’s been crushing on Fluttershy for a long time now.  Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed.”

“Hogwash. Big Mac ain’t crushin’ on nopony.  He…” As she turned back toward her brother’s direction, she stopped and her jaw dropped.  As the music changed to a slow ballad, she saw her big brother take Flutteshy’s hoof and led her to the dance floor.  Fluttershy blushed and accompanied him in a slow dance.

“Well…I’ll be…” was all Applejack could manage.  Dash broke out laughing at her reaction.

“C’mon guys,” Twilight interrupted, “come help me find Spike.”

As the three proceeded through the crowd, they noticed a small orange Pegasus filly trying to get their attention.

“Rainbow Dash! RAINBOW DASH!” shouted Scootaloo excitedly as she ran toward them holding an envelope.

“Hey squirt,” Dash replied, “What’s up?”

“Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo shouted excitedly, “Look!  This came in the mail for you!”

“You’ve been going though my mail again?!  I thought I told you…” but she stopped.  The envelope had a seal on it.  The seal of the Equestrian Royal Air Force.

“It couldn't be...” Dash’s eye’s widened. She took the envelope from Scootaloo.  Beads of sweat formed on her brow.  She carefully broke the seal on the envelope.

“You okay, R.D.?” Applejack asked

“No way...”  She pulled the letter out of the envelope.

Spike, who was still talking to Applebloom, waved their way and started walking toward them.  “Spike!” Twilight called, “There you are…hurry up and come over here!”

Spike saw Dash’s face and started running toward them.  As he caught up with the group, he asked, “What’s going on?”

“Omigosh omigosh omigosh…” Dash continued.

“Go on, read it!” shouted Scootaloo.

She nervously opened the letter and began to read out loud:

"From: The Equestrian Royal Air Force Academy—Cloudsdale Campus

To: Rainbow Dash—Ponyville

Dear Miss Dash

Let me congratulate you on the behalf of Equestrian Royal Air Force Academy. You have been selected for admission into the Advanced Flight Techniques course of study. Your profile and references speak to your commitment to the field of aviation and in looking at your recent flight record, we are confident that you will be a great asset to the ERAF.

Also, Captain Spitfire of the ERAF Wonderbolts has personally requested that you attend the next tryouts for the Wonderbolts at the Cloudsdale Campus on November 26th.  Tryouts are scheduled from November 26th to December 5th.  At the end of the tryouts, Princess Celestia will personally choose the candidate who is most qualified to become the next team member of the Wonderbolts.

In order to prepare for the tryouts, please plan to arrive in Cloudsdale by the night of the 24th.  You may bring one companion to assist you in any preparations you may need to make prior to and during the tryouts.

The Equestrian Royal Air Force welcomes you and wishes you all the best for your career. We appreciate your enthusiasm in the Academy and in serving your country and Princess.

Yours truly,

Cool Star

Office of Admissions”

“I…got in…” an amazed Rainbow Dash whispered, “I…I…”

“Dash…you okay?”  Applejack repeated.

The moment she had dreamed of for so long had arrived—and with a shout of joy, Dash leaped into the air and began to zip and zoom and loop over the partying crowd shouting “I GOT IN!!!”  She came in for a screaming landing right next to Twilight and Applejack who were now joined by Pinkie Pie.  “I GOT IN!!! Pinkie did you hear?  I MADE IT IN!!!”

“THAT’S AMAZING!!! I am so happy for you, Dashie!!!  I know, as soon as this party is over, I’ll put together another one for tomorrow night, it’ll be great—we’ll get DJ Pon-3 to come back and I’ll bake an amazing cake and we’ll throw a parade and there’ll be streamers and banners, and balloons and…oh more fireworks—gotta’ love those fireworks—and dancing penguins and clowns and…” replied pinkie in one breath.

“Thanks Pinkie,” Dash interrupted, “but I gotta’ be there on the 26th.  Today’s the 23rd.  I really need to leave tomorrow morning so I can prepare and rest in Cloudsdale before the tryouts.”

“Oh…” said Pinkie, a bit dejectedly, “…I see.” Her excited smile was slowly replaced by a frown as she brushed a few flat strands of her mane away from her face.

Dash looked at her friend—the first friend she made in Ponyville.  With a compassionate smile, she said, “Hey, don’t worry.  The tryouts are only for a week.  Then I will come back for a bit before the spring term starts.  We’ll have plenty of time to have a party after I get back, okay?”

“But, what about…”

“Pinkie, it’s fine…you’ll be fine, okay?”

Twilight had an idea, “Hey, Pinkie, why don’t we have a small party tomorrow to see Rainbow off?”

“Yeah,” Applejack chimed in, “we could have it at the farm—a picnic to see our dear friend achieve her dream.”

“We could even have it in my hot air balloon to say goodbye in the air…” added Twilight.

“there’s a clearing big enough in the west orchard for the picnic and the balloon.”

Pinkie thought about it for a second and then gasped.  “What a GREAT IDEA!!! I’ll make the food and drinks and bring balloons and streamers and clowns and…”

“Pinkie!” Dash said “Don’t go overboard…”

“No clowns?”

“No clowns.”

“Okie dokie lokey!  Clowns creep me out anyway.  Oh! I gotta’ go tell Rarity and Fluttershy—that is if I can get her away from your brother, A.J.” Pinkie said with a wink.  The friends looked over towards the dance floor—Fluttershy and Big Mac were now swing dancing while the crowd looked on and cheered.

Applejack shook her head, “Where did he learn those dance moves?” she wondered out loud as she walked off with Pinkie to tell Rarity and Fluttershy the news.

“Congratulations, Rainbow Dash, you really earned this.” Twilight said as she hugged her friend excitedly.

“Yeah, Dash,” Spike said, “way to go!”

“Thanks guys.”  Dash said.  Then, she had an idea, “Hey Twilight, Spike, I got something to ask you.”

“Sure, what’s up?” Twilight responded.

“The letter says I can bring a companion to assist in preparations for the tryouts.  I was wondering, Twilight, would it be alright if I took Spike with me?”

Twilight chuckled and asked, “Why are you asking me?  That’s up to Spike.”

“Well he is your number one assistant.  I know how much you depend on him.”

Spike’s eyes grew wide. “Me?  Hang out with the Wonderbolts? Alright! Maybe they’ll make me an honorary member!  But, Dash, why me?”

“Well for one thing, you can be my ghost writer again.” Dash said with a chuckle, “besides, having a baby dragon around to send messages back to you guys on how things are going would be really handy.”

“Please, Twilight, can I go?” Spike asked showing puppy dog eyes…

Twilight thought for a minute.  “It’s fine,” Twilight laughed, “you don’t need me to tell you what to do.  Just…be careful, okay?”

“Really?!” Spike shouted.  “Thanks, Twi—I’m gonna’ get packing now!”

“I’ll go with you,” Dash said, “there are some things you need to know to help me prepare while we’re in Cloudsdale.”

As the two walked toward the library, Twilight looked on and thought, he really is growing up so fast…

...............…

The next morning a still groggy Rainbow Dash made her way to Sweet Apple Acres.  As she flew over the vast expanse of apple orchards—now displaying enough fall colors to make Rarity jealous—the clearing on the west side of the property came into view.  She could see Twilight’s balloon rising as it was being filled with air and readied for flight.  She landed near a picnic blanket set up in the clearing.

“SHE’S HERE!!!” Pinkie’s voice rang across the field.  Immediately a one-hundred member marching band emerged from behind the trees playing the fanfare of the Equestrian Royal Air-Force anthem.  Hundreds of balloons were released into the air.  Banners unraveled around the trees wishing Dash the best of luck.  A large table of food and drink was set up in the middle of the field.  Hundreds of ponies from Ponyville began making their way into the clearing—cheering for their hero, Rainbow Dash.

Dash found Pinkie, and shouted over the crowd “I thought I said don’t go overboard.”

“Well,” came Pinkie’s reply, “There’s no clowns are there? Besides, you were the first friend I made in Ponyville.  I couldn’t just let you go without making a big deal about it!” she said with a smile.

They made their way through the swelling crowds to the now almost full balloon where Twilight, Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy were waiting to say goodbye to their dear friend.  As Pinkie and Dash were approaching, they caught part of a heated conversation between Applejack and Fluttershy.

“…It’s not like that at all,” said a blushing Fluttershy to Applejack, “He’s a really good friend…that’s it…”

“Uh, huh,” Applejack replied in a defensive tone, “Does he know that’s how you feel?”

“Well, I…uh…that is…” stammered the yellow mare.

“Hey guys,” Dash interrupted, “Guess I’m ready to set off...where’s Spike?”

“He’s loading Pinkie’s picnic basket into the balloon,” Twilight said, “Since Pinkie filled five acres with half of Ponyville, we thought we would have the picnic in the air with you.”

“Wow, thanks Twi—but I’ve got to leave soon if I want to get to Cloudsdale by a decent time tonight.”

“Oh…okay.  I guess that makes sense.” She turned to the balloon, “Spike, are you ready?  Dash needs to leave soon!” She yelled.

“Yeah!” he said as he made his way toward the six friends.

“Alright, everypony,” Twilight said “lets get aboard.”

As Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, and Fluttershy made their way to the balloon, Rarity stayed behind and turned to Spike and Rainbow Dash.

“Ahem…” She started, “Oh, Spike, I made you something for your journey—really it’s for both you and Rainbow—it’s just a little token of my…friendship.”

“Really, something for…me?!” Spike’s eye’s widened.  His heart leapt in his chest.

“Now, don’t get the wrong idea, Spike, dear.  This is to keep you safe and Dash fashionable during your time in Cloudsdale.”  She pulled a package out from behind a nearby rock and offered it to Spike.

“Well, go on, open it…” she stated.

Spike tore open the package open.  Inside was a saddle covered in gemstones and a bag filled with more gemstones.  Both Dash and Spike looked at Rarity with a confused expression.

“Well you weren’t planning on riding bareback were you?” Rarity directed her question at Spike, “Besides, this saddle has special straps that will keep you secure even at high speeds—in case someone decides to perform another sonic rainboom while you’re riding.  It is also made to be very stylish so that while Dash will look dazzling while she is trying out.”

“What about the bag of stones?” Dash asked

“A snack for Spike...for the trip…” she looked back at him, “they’re your favorite.” She whispered to him as she gently kissed his cheek.  Spike nearly swooned as Rainbow Dash caught him.

“Easy there, lover boy.” Dash said.

She helped Spike and rainbow get the saddle on correctly. Then she helped Spike get strapped in for their trip before heading off to the balloon.  Once on board with everyone else, Twilight magically operated the controls to lift the balloon off the ground.  Dash also began her ascent with Spike and met the balloon in the air high above the treetops of Sweet Apple Acres.

“Goodbye Dash, Spike,” said Twilight, “may all your dreams come true, Dash!”

“Goodbye…” Fluttershy said, “We’ll miss you oh so much.”

“I ain’t gonna' lie, R.D.,” Applejack stated, “I’m gonna’ miss you an awful lot.  I hope it all works out for ya’.”

“Bye Dashie, bye Spike!” Pinkie said.  “I’m planning a HUMONGOUS party for when you get back!!!”

“Do be careful, you two.” Rarity said.  “Please remember that I am very proud of both of you, and you have my best wishes as you go.”

“Thanks guys,” Dash replied, “you are all the best friends a pony could every hope to have.” She looked at Spike who was still getting used to the saddle. “Ready, partner?”

“Sure am!  Goodbye everypony!” he waved, “We’ll be back before you know it!”

“Hey Spike,” Dash said, “Lets put this saddle to the test!”

“Yeah!” Spike said.

And with that Rainbow Dash took off at high speed toward Cloudsdale.  They watched as the vapor trail she left behind started to become different colors of the rainbow.  Then, when she was just a dot on the horizon, the colors converged and exploded out in a circle from the point where she was at.  Seconds later, the shockwave hit the area with a huge BOOM.  The crowd below cheered and the marching band began playing again.

“That Rainbow Dash…always a show-off.” Twilight laughed.

“Yeah…Hey! Who’s hungry?” Pinkie asked

“I know I am, let’s eat!” Applejack said.  She opened the picnic basket. “What the…”  Inside the picnic basket was a strange black device with numbers counting down and a piece of paper.

“What is that thing?” Rarity asked.

“What does that paper say?” Twilight asked.

Applejack handed the paper to Twilight who proceeded to read it out loud:

“My Dearest Sister

It greatly disturbs me that you would leave us here alone in this Celestia-forsaken place.  I have searched high and low, and now at last I have found you.  You said I was an evil little pony—but I am not evil.  I just have my own ways of extracting justice on those that would hurt me.

Speaking of which, let’s play a little game, shall we?  The device you see before you is a detonator that is wirelessly connected to a highly explosive device I have placed into your friend’s balloon.  From the time you open the picnic basket, you will have five minutes to escape or else you and your friends will die a horrible fiery death.  I do hope you all don’t die too quickly, as I have some other fun games that I want to share with you.

All my love, my dearest Pinkamena,

Your dear sister, Isabelle.”

“It’s a BOMB!” screamed Twilight, dropping the note. “We’ve got to get out of this thing NOW!!!”  She looked out of the balloon’s basket.  They were too high to jump.  She started pulling on levers to deflate the balloon.

“Fluttershy,” Applejack yelled, “Fly down to the farm and get some help.”

“Right!” Fluttershy said as she leapt out of the balloon and glided down to the clearing below.

The display read 4:07.  Rarity screamed “Can’t you make this thing descend any faster!?”

“I’m doing the best I can!” shouted Twilight, who was trying not only to drop in altitude, but to maneuver the balloon away from the crowd in the clearing.

“…Ink…Inkie?…” Pinkie stammered.  The usually jovial pink pony’s countenance had changed at the hearing of her sister’s name.  She stared off into the distance—a glazed look in her eyes—almost oblivious to the panic that was setting in to her friends.

3:20 read the timer on the device.  Terror began to get the better of Rarity who started crying and screaming, “I…I’VE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE…LET ME OUT!!!”  She began to climb over the edge of the balloon basket, ready to jump.  Applejack grabbed her tail and pulled her back in just in time.

“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR APPLE-PICKIN’ MIND!!!  WE’RE TOO HIGH UP!!! WE GOT TO GET LOWER!!!” Applejack shouted.

“I said I was WORKING ON IT!” Twilight shouted.

Full panic set into Rarity’s mind, “NO!  I AM FAR TOO…FABULOUS TO DIE…HERE…LIKE THIS!  LET ME OUT, LET ME OUT, LET ME—,” Applejack cut her off by slapping her across the face.

“GET A GRIP RARITY!  Panicking ain’t gonna’ help nopony!”

2:10 remained.  “We’re still too high up to jump!” Twilight shouted

As Rarity was sobbing on the floor of the balloon basket and Pinkie kept whispering the name on the note, an idea occurred to Applejack.  “Twilight...  Can’t you teleport us all out of here?”

“I don’t know,” she said still maneuvering the levers to release the hot air from the balloon. “I’ve never teleported more than myself and one other person before in a moving vehicle!  If I miscalculate, we could end up being teleported into a tree or underground!”

Applejack looked over the side at trees made beautiful colors of red, yellow, and orange by the fall season far below.  Looking back at her friends she somberly stated, “You gotta’ try Twilight, ‘cause at this rate we ain’t gonna’ make it.”

1:50 on the clock.  Twilight looked at her friends and knew that what Applejack said was the truth.  “Alright…everypony put your hooves on me.  I need contact with you to make sure we all teleport.”

Applejack complied quickly.  Rarity nervously put her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder.  Pinkie did not move.

“PINKIE!” shouted Twilight.

At hearing her name she turned toward them.  “Right, sorry,” she said quietly as she picked up the paper and put her hoof on Twilight’s other shoulder.

1:30

Twilight closed her eyes and began to concentrate.  Her horn began to glow with a mystical purple light.

“Oh please, Twilight, please, oh please…” Rarity babbled with tears flowing down her face.

“Inkie…here?” Pinkie whispered.

“Everypony SHUT UP!” Twilight shouted and began to concentrate again.

1:10

The glow on her horn began to grow around the four friends.  Sweat began to pour from Twilight’s brow as she concentrated harder.

0:50

The glow began to pulsate and become blindingly bright.

0:30

The light arced magnificently and the four disappeared from the balloon.

0:20

In another blinding flash of light the friends reappeared directly under the balloon—standing in the middle of the apple orchard.

“Everypony, RUN!” Twilight shouted while she mentally kept up with the timer.

0:10

As they galloped up a slope and away from the balloon, they heard sirens in the air. Fluttershy must have gotten help, Twilight thought. They found a cleft in the hill they climbing and managed to squeeze into it.

0:05

0:04

0:03

0:02

0:01

They all crouched down and covered their heads waiting for the explosion.

But it didn’t come.

Applejack peeked out of the crevice and saw the balloon—strangely adrift in the air over her apple orchards.  The four climbed out and stared curiously at the abandoned airship—still descending innocently toward the trees.

Twilight said in a confused tone “…I don’t get it…was it some sort of prank?  And why would Pinkie’s sister—”

But she was cut off as the four of them were knocked back by the force of the blast of the balloon exploding into a huge fireball over Sweet Apple Acres.

Chapter 3

Twilight’s ears were ringing from the force of the explosion—she could hear nothing else.  She smelled smoke and felt hot blasts of air all around her.  As she tried to move, her head and sides screamed in pain. Her left eye was swollen shut and dried blood was caked around her nose.

…how long was I out? She thought to herself.

As she struggled to open her right eye she saw the nightmarish landscape around her, and the reality of her situation became very clear.

The orchards of Sweet Apple Acres were on fire.

And Twilight Sparkle was surrounded on all sides by the inferno.

“What…what happened…?’’ she said weakly, coughing as she struggled to her hooves.

She remembered the explosion.  She remembered the sensation of falling off…something.  Or was she thrown by the blast?  She remembered sailing through the air towards the trees below the ridge, and then she remembered no more.

“APPLEJACK!?  RARITY!?  PINKIE!?”  She cried out desperately—each cry causing sharp pains in her sides. She began to realize that if she couldn’t even hear her own voice how would she hear her friends?  “ANYPONY!!! HELP ME, PLEASE!!!”  It appeared to be no use.  She was trapped in a small gap between the trees with a wall of fire surrounding her just beyond the trees that were nearest her.

She tried to conjure up a water spell and a shield spell, but it was no use.  Teleporting herself and her three friends, the adrenaline of trying to escape the explosion, and the actual force of the blast had taken their toll on Twilight—she was spent.  She needed time to regain some of her magical strength, but time was a luxury she did not have at the moment.

The fire was raging in the trees around her, casting a sickening orange glow to the world around her.  The heat was making her weak and the smoke was filling her lungs.  She could hear trees falling in the distance and constant roar of flames was all around her.

“I think I’ve got just enough left for…”

She closed her eyes and concentrated.  Her horn began to glow a soft violet hue.  The light grew and grew and then shot upward into the air and exploded like purple fireworks in the shape of her cutie mark over her location.

“If this doesn’t work…” she said out loud.  The world was beginning to spin around her as the flames were drawing closer.  A branch that was engulfed in flames fell—missing her by mere feet.  It was getting harder to breathe.  She crouched down to get to where the oxygen was.  Her lungs felt as if the fire was entering them and burning right through them.

Just as she felt as if her consciousness was slipping away from her, she could see the blurry image of three Pegasus ponies swooping down toward her from the sky.  Two were wearing paramedic uniforms.  The one in the lead was a familiar pony with a yellow coat and pink mane acting in a very unfamiliar way.

“…Flutter…?”

Fluttershy was shouting something she couldn’t make out at her.  It looked as if she was mouthing Twilight’s name, but Twilight still couldn’t hear.  She tried to reply but couldn’t.  A grave look fell over Fluttershy’s face as she began yelling something to the other two ponies.  Then she felt the sensation of being lifted by the shoulders up, out of the fire…above the trees. She could see the clearing below her that had been her brief refuge become engulfed with flames.  As they breached the glowing treetops, the cool air filled her lungs like refreshing water on a scorching hot day.  In a moment of clarity she looked around her at the scene below and gasped.

A huge portion of Sweet Apple Acres was now ablaze.

The trees...the drying fall leaves…the bomb must have ignited them like a book of matches…she thought.  She coughed violently as the paramedics carried her to a carriage in the sky being pulled by two more Pegasus paramedics.  As they opened the back doors to the carriage, Twilight noticed approximately forty to fifty fire-carriages being pulled by volunteer Pegasus’ filling the air with lights flashing and sirens blaring, spraying their chemical retardant foam over the trees in an attempt to control the blaze.  Another team of Pegasus ponies was barely visible, bringing rain clouds from the north.

As the paramedics put her in the ambulance carriage, Twilight’s body went limp from exhaustion.  The last thing she remembered before slipping into unconsciousness was thinking “…my friends…please Celestia, let them be okay…”

....................

Twilight awoke the next morning at the Ponyville Medical Center.  The dim lights cast a dull glow onto the drab greenish-grey walls of the room.  Muted mechanical whirring and pumping and steady beeping sounds were coming from behind her bed.  An oxygen mask covered her face and an I.V. line was inserted into her left fore-leg.   Nurse Redheart was reading over her chart while Doctor Gray Mare—a tall, thin unicorn with a grey coat, dark yellow mane, and a scalpel for a cutie mark—was standing over Twilight’s bed.  Dr. Gray’s horn was glowing bright pink as she was concentrating.  The glow was duplicated over Twilight’s torso.

“Good morning, Miss Sparkle,” Dr. Gray said, “you took quite a fall last night.  I have to admit, you have some pretty brave friends.  They were searching for you for hours.”

“My friends?... They’re okay?” She asked excitedly in a raspy voice.  She tried to sit up, but her sides exploded in sharp pain.  Nurse Redheart ran to her side and helped her lie back down as Twilight was reduced to a heavy fit of coughing.

“Easy Twilight…” Dr. Gray said, “You have some fractured ribs and your lungs are pretty badly damaged by the smoke inhalation.  The smoke gets into your bloodstream through your lungs and can cause oxygen starvation to your brain. I’m in the middle of prepping you now for a magical procedure that will actually remove the smoke out your bloodstream and to heal up those ribs of yours while also repairing the heat damage to your lungs.  You will need to be under general anesthesia as the procedure can be quite painful.”  She nodded to nurse Redheart, who turned a knob on a tank next to the oxygen canister.

“When the procedure is finished, you should be back to normal, but I would like to keep you here for a few days for general observation.  Do you understand?”

Twilight nodded.  She turned her head towards the window and closed her eyes…

...............……

When Twilight awoke, she was facing the same window.  It was night now, and a half-moon shone into the room.  Other than the light of the moon and the glow of the monitors behind her bed, the room was dark.  The oxygen mask was gone and she could breathe normally again.  She sat up in the bed and felt very little pain other than a general soreness around her ribcage.  As she looked to the other side of the room, she noticed four chairs had been drawn up to her bed.  In two of them, there were two ponies sleeping.

“Fluttershy?  Applejack?” she said quietly.

Applejack raised her eyes and closed them again.  Then, she did a double-take and excitedly said, “Twilight! You’re alright!”

She leapt out of the chair—waking up Fluttershy who groggily said “Wha…”

“We were so worried, Twi…” she said as she turned on the light and embraced her lavender friend, “We searched and searched for hours!  Even Winona couldn’t pick up your scent anymore.  If you hadn’t sent up that flare…we woulda’….never found ya’…” Applejack broke down to tears as she held onto Twilight.

“Ap…ple…jack…you’re…hurt…ing…me…” Twilight managed to squeak out from under the force of the bear hug her well intentioned friend had given her.

“OH!” Applejack said, letting go and letting Twilight drop back in the bed. “Ahm so sorry, sugarcube!  We’re just so happy to see you okay!”

“It’s okay…guess I’m not 100% yet…” Twilight said, coughing, “Thank you guys for getting me out of there.”

“Well, the pony y’all need ta’ thank is Fluttershy over here.  When your flare went off, none of the paramedics wanted ta’ go in.  Said it was too dangerous. Fluttershy took charge and told them she was going to go in after you and if they didn’t follow, they were gonna’ have two ponies’ lives to answer for.”

Twilight looked over at her normally reserved friend with a sense of astonishment, “Fluttershy…thank you so much…you saved my…”

“Oh…it was nothing…really.” Fluttershy interrupted as she blushed and hid her smile under her wing.

“Are you kiddin’ me?  Even Rainbow Dash would have ta’ admit that was pretty darn brave!”

“Is everypony okay?” Twilight asked.

“Yep, we all got out of the orchard…thought you were right behind us.  Other than some minor burns and scratches we’re okay.  Rarity was here with us earlier, but she had to take Sweetie Belle home.  Pinkie’s here—we told her to get something to eat at the cafeteria.”  As she said Pinkie’s name, a look of concern fell over Applejack’s face, “Twi—Pinkie’s really upset.  That letter really got to her.  She’s blaming herself for everything that happened and wants to leave Ponyville.  Maybe you can talk some sense into her and find out more about her sister, Inkie so we can stop her before anything else happens.”

“Alright,” said Twilight.  She looked at her friend and asked, “While we’re waiting for her, can you tell me how bad the damage is to the farm?”

Applejack’s countenance dropped and she began to tear up again, “Oh Twi,” she said, trying to choke back the sobs that were coming, “…the fires are still a’ragin’, but they’re gettin’ under control.  Right now, Big Mac is estimatin’ that we’ve lost about seventy acres.  That’s only the trees that have been burned—doesn’t count the smoke damage.  Since the crop is already harvested this year, it won’t hurt us too much, but next year…Twi…that’s about 20% of the farm…It ain’t gonna’ easy to get by…we were barely profitable as it was…” She began to break down. The weight of her responsibility was weighing down on her heavily. “If Pa was here, he’d know what ta’ do…” feeling powerless, she slid to the ground and began to weep.

“Don’t worry Applejack,” Fluttershy flew across the room to her side and put her wing around her, “We’ll all help and find a way, right Twilight?”

“Of course,” said Twilight, trying to think of a solution.   “Applejack, you have insurance on the farm, right?”

“Course Ah do…but Ah don’t have time ta’ deal with that now.  Besides, Ah don’t know how ta’ deal with all that.” Applejack replied through teary eyes.

“Where’s the insurance office?”

“It’s not too far from the Mayors office near the town square.”

“You know, once I’m discharged from the hospital, I’d be more than happy to go with you to the office and help you take care of the insurance claim.  And, in return, you could go with me to Canterlot to help me find a new airship.”

“You’ll do that?  Twilight…you’re the best!” She jumped up to hug her again, but Twilight put out her hoof to stop her.

“Ah…still recovering…remember?”

“Right…” Applejack said, a bit embarrassed.

“Anyway, you’ll actually be helping me a lot.  They way you negotiate for all that farm equipment could really help me with those used airship sales ponies. And, I think I’ll need someone to back me up when I have to explain to my Mom and Dad how I completely totaled the balloon they gave me as an early graduation present.”

As Applejack chuckled at Twilight’s comment, the door opened and a dark pink silhouette stood in the doorway.

“Pinkie?” Twilight said, a bit unsure of herself, “…is that you?”

“…yeah…” came a flat, monotone voice.  As she walked into the light, Twilight was taken aback by the dramatic change in her dear friend.  Her mane and tail were flat and straight.  Her coat was…darker, somehow.  Her face…her eyes were so…sad.  Bags lined her sorrowful eyes.  Twilight remembered Pinkie’s birthday party the previous year and how she looked like this…and how she acted…

“Is she going to be alright?” Twilight whispered to Applejack and Fluttershy—who both shrugged.  “Pinkie…you want to tell me what’s going on?” Especially the part about your sister being a psycho? She thought.

“I…I…” She bit her lip as hot tears began to roll down her cheeks.  “I’m so sorry, Twilight…” she moved to Twilight and buried her head in the mattress as she began to cry.  Applejack and Fluttershy moved to her side and hugged her while consoling her.  Fluttershy stroked Pinkie’s flat pink mane and kept saying, “...it’s alright…there, there…shhh, it’s going to be okay…” as a mother would her child.

As the tears and sobs subsided, Pinkie began, “I’ve told you some things about my family…but not a lot.  You know how I got my cutie mark, but I’ve kept the rest to myself.”  She paused to breathe.  She hadn’t spoken of her family in such a long time; she didn’t really know what to say. “My life on the rock farm was harsh and dull.  My parents worked hard everyday to put food on the table.  I didn’t have many friends—mostly due to the fact that my family was ‘different’ because of their beliefs. In spite of the hardships we faced, we were very close.  My parents were strict ponies, but they loved us very much. “

“But then, one day, something happened to my sister, Isabelle—Inkie.  She…changed.  We don’t really know what it was, but for some reason, she just became angry with the world.  She started bullying people around and looking for ways to hurt others.  But, she was sneaky about it, ya’know?  Somehow, the blame always fell on my other sister, Bellamina—Blinkie, or me.”

“One day…, when my Father and I were going over to the Water’s livestock ranch, we found her there…in their barn.  I still remember the horrible sight we walked in on.  She had…she had…” Pinkie began to sob again.  The strain of reliving this memory was taking its toll.

Fluttershy kept stroking Pinkie’s mane saying it was alright.  Twilight nodded her head motioning for Pinkie to continue.  She composed herself, “…she had…she did…horrible, terrible and cruel things to those animals…”

“Like…what?” Applejack asked.

“You don’t want to know…” Pinkie burst into fresh sobs and tears.

“…my…Celestia…” Twilight said with her mouth agape.  She knew that it took a lot to push Pinkie to this level of despair.

She couldn’t begin to fathom how much of a burden this had been on her dear friend’s heart for all these years.

Pinkie continued, “After that, Dad had to pay a lot of money to Mr. Waters—mostly to keep him quiet.  We weren’t allowed to go there anymore.  Mom and Dad forced Isabelle to stay home while Blinkie and I went to school—but sometimes she got out and terrorized other farms or school-foals.  Every night when we came home, Inkie and I would get into a fight.  It was like living in a nightmare.  Finally, one night, my friend Blue said his dad forbid him to see me anymore.  He was going to run away to Ponyville to catch a train to…somewhere.  He mentioned Seaddle.  He begged me to come, but I didn’t.  I didn’t want to leave my family behind.”

“So, what changed your mind?” Fluttershy asked

“Rainbow Dash’s sonic rainboom.  Of course, at the time, I didn’t know that’s what it was.  But it led me to pursue laughter and happiness and fun and to leave home for Ponyville.  I decided I was done living in the nightmare and I needed a fresh start.  A few days later, I got on the first train to Ponyville.”  As she spoke, she became more composed and the straight hair in her mane and tail began to develop a bit of a wave.  Her fur color began to lighten as well.  "I haven’t spoken with my parents or my sisters since I left the community.”

“…and that’s how Equestria was made?” asked Twilight, trying to lighten the mood.

Pinkie allowed a laugh, “Yeah…”

“But what I don’t understand,” Twilight continued, “is how come you never told us any of this before?”

“…I thought,” Pinkie stammered, “…th-that you wouldn’t want to be my friends anymore…” she looked down at the floor, ashamed of her past and fearful of her future.

“Pinkie,” Twilight reached over the bed and held Pinkie’s face in her hooves, looking straight into her eyes, “you are one of my very best friends.  Nothing will change that.  If there’s one thing I’ve learned while being here in Ponyville, is that true friendship never fails.  No matter what shadows are in your past, we can overcome them together.”  She embraced her pink friend even though it hurt her sides to do so.  All four of them started to cry, then looking at each other they started to giggle. With a popping sound, Pinkie’s hair and mane returned to their normal wild and curly state.

“Ya’ know,” Applejack said, wiping a tear from her eye, “Ah think Pinkie should help us with this claim and your airship once you get out of here, Twi.  Matter of fact, Ah think Pinkie should stay close by us until we can find Inkie and stop her…hopefully before she hurts anypony else.”

“That’s a great idea.” Twilight added.  She looked at her pink friend, “Pinkie, why don’t you stay here tonight with us, just to be safe, okay?”

“I’d really like that.” She said with a smile. “Thanks guys, for understanding.”

“Fluttershy, would you like to stay too?” Twilight asked.

Fluttershy, who still was trying to regain her composure, said “I’m sorry, but I really have to tend to my animal friends.  I’ve been gone a while and they’ll need me back soon.  But please, everypony, be safe.”  With that she left the three friends in the hospital room.

Twilight looked to Pinkie, thinking back on all the love and laughter she had brought to so many ponies throughout Ponyville.  She was reminded of all the times when things seemed so dark…and Pinkie would be the one to bring the hopeful light of friendship and joy.  Now, even though her hair was normal, Twilight could see the fear and sorrow in Pinkie’s eyes.  “Pinkie,” she said with new determination, “I promise you, we will help you put an end to this nightmare.”

“Ahm gonna’ second that.” Applejack said, putting a hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder. “Ah know that Rarity and Fluttershy would say the same.  So would Rainbow Dash if she knew what was going on.”

“Thanks, girls…” Pinkie said with a sigh of relief.

Twilight thought she sensed some of the fear dissipating. “A.J., why don’t we get Derpy to take a letter to Rainbow?  She should really know…”

“NO!” Pinkie cut her off, “…no, don’t bother Rainbow Dash with this.  She’s fulfilling her dream as a Wonderbolt.  She needs to focus on her tryouts so she can get in.  If she lost that because of me…I couldn’t bear it…” she whimpered.

Twilight looked at Applejack who shrugged and back at Pinkie who was beginning to tear up again. She thought about Pinkie’s words and said, “Okay, but just promise me that if things start to get out of hand, that you’ll let me send that message…deal?”

“Deal.” Pinkie replied.  She was about to say something else when Nurse Redheart came into the room with a confused look on her face.

“Nurse Redheart, are you okay?” Twilight asked.

“Fine, dear, except…well this is a bit unusual, but I found this envelope at the nurses station…addressed to Pinkamena Diane Pie.”  She gave the envelope to Pinkie who nervously opened it.

She began to read:

“My Dearest Pinkamena,

Well done on escaping my first little game.  I do hope your friends saw how you cowardly ran from your injured friend in the orchard.  It was quite thrilling to watch the trees burn so brightly in the cool dark night.  And it was so exciting to see your abandoned friend rescued at the eleventh hour.  This is the drama that I live for.

Please don’t think that was the grand finale, it was merely the opening act!  I cannot wait to share what I have in store for you and your friends.

All my love,

Isabelle.”

Pinkie dropped the letter on the floor, her hair falling flat again.  It was then that Applejack grabbed her shoulders and looked her square in the eye and said, “NO!  Don’t let her get in your head!  She’s just playin’ mind games with you, that’s all.  If you go to pieces now, she’s already won.  You need to beat her at this!”

Pinkie shook her head to clear her mind.  “You’re right, A.J. I’m not going to let her beat me.  With my friends at my side, I’ll put an end to this once and for all!”

The three friends spent the rest of the night encouraging each other until they all fell asleep.  Before Twilight nodded off, she thought to herself I’ve got to at least let Spike know what’s going on.  I’ll get Derpy to take him a letter tomorrow…

…and with that thought she faded into sweet, dreamless sleep.

Chapter 4

A few days later, Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie Pie sat in the Mutual of Equestria offices discussing the details of the damages to Sweet Apple Acres.  The office was filled with leather bound and dusty books detailing policies and procedures, and file cabinets that had little office knick-knacks, curiosities and gifts from happy customers to the adjustor for all his hard work.  In other words, the office was interesting.

The adjustor was not.

And Pinkie Pie was bored out of her skull.

It wouldn’t have been so bad, except for the fact that Twilight insisted that Applejack and Pinkie stay together for safety, even going so far as having them stay at the library with her after she got out of the hospital.  They had done everything the past few days together…and it was really starting to get on Pinkie’s nerves.

“Now, Miss Applejack, let us continue to the damage assessed to the residential structures on the property…” the adjustor said in a low, monotone voice.

This is sooooo boring! Pinkie thought as she stared at the drop ceiling, trying to count the black marks that patterned each tile.

“Yes,” Applejack said nervously, “with tha’ smoke damage, Big Mac n’ I reckon that, after the deductable, our total damage estimate is 30,000 bits.”

Boring, boring, boring! Pinkie thought as she looked at a plant in the corner that was in dire need of some water. It’s as dry as he is… she thought.

“Can I add something?” a still bandaged and bruised Twilight said, “If you take into account the worker housing that was totally destroyed by the fire, and damage caused to the landscape around the residential structures, estimates could be as high as 90,000 bits.”

Oh dear Celestia! This is soooooooooo…

“Well, Miss Sparkle, the landscape is not normally covered other than basic turf in these situations, unless the Apple family can produce receipts that indicate…”

”BORING!!!”

All eyes stared at Pinkie in disbelief as she realized that the thought had escaped her lips.  In the awkwardness of the moment, she attempted a nervous laugh to break the mood.

“Well,” said the somewhat offended adjuster, who got up and began moving towards the door, “perhaps it’s time for a break.”

“Yeah, Ah was just thinkin’ the same thing…” said Applejack as she glared at Pinkie.

After the adjuster left the room, Twilight turned to Pinkie and said in a hushed tone, “What do you think you’re doing? Don’t you realize how important this is to Applejack and her family?”

“Pinkie,” Applejack said, gritting her teeth and trying to control her temper, “please tell me what’s goin’ on inside that thar pink head of yours that would cause you ta’ burst out like that.”

“I-I’m sorry girls, it’s just that…well… these past few days we’ve stuck really close together—and I appreciate it, really.  I know you both are concerned for my safety, but, I really want to get out on my own for just a while.  I feel kinda’ boxed in, like I can’t breathe.  I want to run through the town and say ‘hi’ to all my friends in the market and laugh with them and see them smile.”

“Out of the question,” Twilight retorted sharply, “there is always safety in numbers.  Besides, we don’t know what Inkie’s next move is.  She could be just waiting to get you alone.”

“But Twilight, what if this is Inkie’s next move—to get us to be so afraid that we can’t live our normal, everyday lives?” Pinkie asked in a pleading voice.

Twilight began to say something, but Applejack chimed in first, saying with an introspective look in her eye, “You know, Twi, she’s got a point.  We can’t go on livin’ like Inkie’s around every corner.  And we can’t keep stickin’ together 24/7.  You both are some of the best friends I’ve ever had…but dang it all if y’all ain’t startin’ to grate my nerves too!” She said in a joking tone.

Pinkie giggled as Twilight was taken aback and said, “But, I thought we were protecting Pinkie and having fun…like the slumber party we had last night.”

Applejack responded “Twi, no offense, but your dramatic readin’ of  String Theory for Eggheads, 3rd Edition and The Prophecies of Starswirll the Bearded at 2:00 in the mornin’ ain’t necessarily my idea of fun.”

Pinkie giggled even more at this as Applejack looked at her and said, “Look, sugarcube, Ah know this has been hard on you.  It’s about 10:00am now.  Ponyville’s marketplace is probably packed with ponies right.  Why don’t you get out of here and say hi to everyone, and maybe even sing a song or two on the way?  I hear Donut Joe opened a new shop right in the marketplace.  We can meet you there after we’re done here.”

“Really?!” Pinkie replied, “That would be amazingly fabulous!! Or would that be fabulously amazing? Or maybe amazinglyfabulouslyamazing!! Or even…”

“Pinkie!” Applejack said with a chuckle, “just get outta’ here already, before Twilight comes up with a reason why you shouldn’t.”

Pinkie grinned and hoofed it to the door.  As Pinkie bounced out of the office and happily made her way toward the marketplace, Twilight looked to Applejack and said, “I don’t know, A.J.  I’ve got a bad feeling about this…”

Applejack responded, “I wouldn’t worry, Twi.  Pinkie needs to be around a lot of folks.  It’s where she does her best.  Listen, thar’s some birds in this world you can put in a cage and they’re fine, and thar’s some you put in a cage and they never sing again.  Pinkie’s like that.  Keepin’ her tied at the flank to us and not lettin’ her be around all of her friends is just gonna’ kill her spirit.”

“But, what about Inkie?”

“Twi, thar’s probably over a hundred ponies in the market at this time of day.  Inkie would have ta’ be a complete idiot ta’ try somethin’ now.”

“I guess you’re right…” Twilight conceded. “So…my reading wasn’t much fun, huh?”

“Nope.” Applejack said bluntly, and after a slight pause, added “Besides, your book’s biggest problem is that it totally ignores the fact that string theory doesn’t provide novel experimental predictions at currently accessible energy scales.”

“Yeah, I noticed that too…wait, what?”

………………..

Pinkie bounced gleefully toward the marketplace.  The thought of seeing all of her friends—because everypony in Ponyville was her friend—filled her heart with a sense of warmth that she had not felt since before Rainbow Dash had left.  It would be good to see everypony and to see the smiles on their faces as she mingled with them.

As she was bounding down a side street toward the market, she began to feel something was amiss.  A pinching sensation began to affect her knee and caused her to remember a conversation with Twilight, where she had said, “When my back is itchy, it means it’s my lucky day.  And, when my knee gets pinchy, that means something scary is about to happen.” She went from a bounce to a slow trot as she sensed she was not completely alone.

She looked behind her and saw nothing but a few business stallions and mares walking up and down the street—absorbed in their own conversations and newspapers.  She also saw some carriages delivering posts to the offices she just left.  She looked to her left and right and saw the single story office buildings in the Ponyville business district.

They sure look boring and dull to me… she thought.

She nervously smiled with thankfulness for the fun and exciting job she had at Sugarcube Corner.  The days went by so fast when she was running the Cake’s bakery, or delivering various baked goods to her friends around town.  The nights were even more fun as the Cakes allowed her more and more to take care of their twins.  They would play until well past the babies’ bed time and the three of them would all fall asleep in the middle of the room.

Over the buildings she saw the banners and flags of the central marketplace.  The pinchy feeling in her knee started to grow.  She hurried her pace toward the market as the feeling of being followed began to increase, even though there was no one around.

Or was there…

As she trotted down the side-street, she swore she heard something like hoof-steps behind her.  She turned around suddenly and saw nothing.

Okay, Pinkie… she thought to herself, don’t lose it now…it’s probably just the wind or…something.

As she began to turn around, she heard a trash can knock over behind her.  She immediately bolted as fast as she could toward the market.  She could hear galloping hoof-steps behind her drawing closer.  Pinkie pushed herself to run as fast as she could toward the market.  The side-street curved around and then, she saw it.  The entry to the marketplace had been blocked off by a construction crew repairing the street.  Her eyes darted around the scene to find a way through, but there was no way out.  A voice cried out to her from behind, “PINKIE, STOP!!!” Seeing she was trapped she turned to face her pursuer…a pursuer who turned out to be a white filly unicorn with a purple mane.

“Sw…Sweetie Belle?”

“Pinkie...*pant*…why did you…*gasp*… run away like that?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Why were you stalking me?” asked Pinkie in a highly irritated tone.

“I wasn’t stalking you…per se…” Sweetie said with a blush and a grin.

“Then what were you doing?”

“Well, since the incident with the balloon, I’ve decided that I am going to do my part in protecting my dear Sister’s friend and to make sure that no harm befalls you in any way.”

“Out of the kindness of your heart?” said a less than convinced Pinkie.

“Of course!” said Sweetie Belle.

Pinkie just stared at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh FINE!” Sweetie Belle said, “I was just trying to see if I could get a cutie mark for being your body guard.”  She slumped to the ground, forelegs crossed.

Pinkie started to giggle and before she knew it, Sweetie Belle was giggling too.  “I guess it is a bit pathetic, isn’t it?”  Sweetie Belle questioned.

“No, not at all!” Pinkie replied.  “I think it’s totally normal to wonder about who you are, and who you’re going to be.  And someday, you’ll find your special place in this world.”

Sweetie Belle smiled…the smile that Pinkie lived to see on all her friends.  It was the smile that showed that no matter what could be wrong; everything was going to work out alright.  She could feel her own heart filling with warmth and light.

“Until then,” said Pinkie, “why don’t you walk with me through the marketplace while I say hi to all my friends?”

“I’d like that, Pinkie” Sweetie Belle said.

………………..

After they made it to the market going another way, Pinkie and Sweetie Belle had a wonderful time visiting the different booths and stalls, sampling the vendor’s wares and chatting with old friends. They made their way around the market until they came to Donut Joe’s new donut shop.  As Pinkie motioned to go inside, Sweetie Belle looked up at the clock tower.

“It’s 10:45.” She said. “I’m late to meet Rarity at the boutique.  I’ve got to help her get her next order ready to ship to Canterlot.”

“Oh,” said Pinkie, “…you sure you won’t have a donut with me?”

“No, I got to run.  Thanks, Pinkie, this was a great morning.”  She turned to canter off, but then turned back, rushed up to Pinkie and embraced her, burying her head in Pinkie’s cotton-candy mane.  “It will be alright, Pinkie.  We all love you and are going to protect you…” she stepped back a bit and wiped a tear from her eye, “…even if I don’t get my cutie mark for it.” She said with a chuckle and a wink.

“Be careful getting back home.” Pinkie said

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.  See you later.” She said.  And with that, she trotted off toward the Carousel Boutique.

Pinkie watched her go until she disappeared down a side street.  What a great sister she must be to Rarity.  Not like some ponies I know… she thought with a shudder I really hope Rarity appreciates what she has…

Pinkie pushed open the large glass double doors to be greeted by the smells of fresh donuts, coffee, and hot cocoa.  The comforting smells that wafted out seemed to draw her into the store.  The store walls were painted in bright blues and greens and had pictures of famous ponies who had frequented Donut Joe’s shop in Canterlot, such as Hoity-Toity, Spitfire and the Wonderbolts, and of course, Princess Celestia herself.  The high backed booths and tables had a few patrons enjoying some of the sweet confections from the kitchen while a white furred mare with a red mane and rose for a cutie mark ran around with a coffee pot, taking orders and delivering food.

“Well if it isn’t the one and only Pinkie Pie!” she heard a familiar voice from behind the counter proclaim.

Pinkie smiled as she walked toward the counter. “Wow, Joe!  The new store looks really great!”

“Yeah, it took a lot of hard work, but now I’m finally expanding…heck, maybe I’ll even start franchising this place out to other towns, ya’ know?” Donut Joe said with a hint of pride in his voice.

“Sounds like a great plan!”

“Listen, while you’re here, I wanted to thank you.  You really saved my tail at the National Desert Competition.  With my part of the winnings, I was able to get out the debt I had tied up in my Canterlot store and branch out.  Thanks to you, Pinkie, my business is booming!”

“Aw, it was nothing, Joe…” Pinkie said as she blushed.

“Listen, Pinkie, anything you want is on the house.  Have a seat and I’ll have Rosa get your order.”

“Really! Wow, thanks Joe!”  She looked around the shop and walked over to a high backed booth.  As she slid into the booth, she regretted that Sweetie Belle had to leave even more now.  She would have really liked the donuts.

She looked through the menu, mouth watering at all the delectable treats.  Somewhere between the powdered and the filled donuts, she heard the bell on the door ring as it swung open.  She glanced up and then back at her menu, then did a double take to the door.  There, standing in the entry-way, was a blue stallion with a white mane and a cutie mark of three musical notes.  She looked at him curiously, eyes widening.

It couldn’t be…could it?

The stallion glanced her way and the same curious look crossed his face. “Pink?” he asked.  “Is that you?” he questioned with a growing smile.

“Blue?!” she replied.

He nodded.

She gasped and then screamed with glee, jumped out of the booth, and tackled him in the middle of the shop—much to the annoyance of some of the customers.  “Blue Waters, where in Equestria have you been,” she asked, embracing her long lost friend.

As Blue got to his hooves, he replied, “Pink, it’s been too long.”  He looked at her for a moment with and said, “…you look amazing.”

Pinkie blushed and led him back to the booth where the two sat and stared at each other for a while, neither really knowing what to say or where to begin.  Finally, Blue broke the silent tension in the air.

“So, how long have you been in Ponyville?” he asked.

“I came here about a week after you left the community.  I came looking for you, but no one knew who you were or where you were.  I really wanted to keep looking for you, but I made so many amazing friends here in Ponyville, that I couldn’t leave.” She replied. “By the way, where did you go anyway?”

“I did come to Ponyville, but I didn’t stay long.  My first night here, I stayed at the Ponyville Inn and was playing a tune on the Piano in the lobby.  Soon, some other colts that were staying there brought out their instruments and started playing with me.  Before I knew it, we were jamming into the early morning and had drawn quite a crowd.  As we were wrapping up the last set, my cutie mark appeared!  Three notes…pretty nice, huh?”  She giggled as he pretended to play an imaginary piano on the table and shook his flank to show off his cutie mark.

“After we finished, one of the colts named Theponius Monk offered me a job in his band.  Since then, we’ve been travelling all over Equestria playing in Jazz clubs and bars.  And now, I’m back in Ponyville today to meet a certain DJ who has some connections to larger venues.”

“That’s so super-de-duper incredible, Blue!  I’m so proud of you!” She began to ask more, but was cut off by the waitress, Rosa.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Rosa said, “but can I get your order…Joe says anything you want is on him.”

“Right,” said Pinkie, “I’ll have two strawberry frosted donuts…ooh with sprinkles, please! And some chocolate milk…Blue, what do you want?”

“Just some coffee thanks.”

The waitress gave Blue a peculiar look and then directed her attention back to Pinkie.  “Okay, two strawberry frosted and chocolate milk, coming up.” She said.

“Don’t forget Blue’s coffee!” replied Pinkie.

“Right...” said the waitress as she walked off.

“That was kind of weird, don’t you think?” Blue stated.

“Maybe she’s seen you at one of your clubs.” Pinkie said.

“Maybe…anyway, how are you? What’s been going on in your world since I left?”

“Well,” Pinkie started, “like I said, when I came here and I couldn’t find you at first—I almost decided to get back on the train and head back to the community.  But I met someone who became an amazing friend to me…Rainbow Dash!”

“You mean THE Rainbow Dash…”  Blue asked, “…the same one that’s going to be the next Wonderbolt?”

“You know her?”

“No, no, but all of Equestria is talking about her.  Everyone says she’s a horseshoe in with her sonic rainboom and all!”

“She was the very first friend I made in Ponyville! She really helped me get on my feet while we boarded together at the Cakes for a few months until she got her own place…and we had sooo much fun!  Parties every night, new friends every day!  It was exactly what I needed!  And even though everyone in Ponyville is a friend of mine, I met four other ponies who—along with Rainbow Dash—have become like …like… sisters… to… me…” she trailed off.  Her countenance changed and tears began to well up in her eyes.

“Pink, what is it?”

“Blue, it…it…” she choked back the tears… “It’s Inkie…she’s found me…she’s trying to…she…”

“Inkie’s here?!” said Blue, shock and fear spreading across his face.

Pinkie nodded.

“Where is she?”

“We don’t know.  She’s hiding and trying to terrorize us…maybe even kill us.  She destroyed my friend’s balloon, burned down half of another friend’s farm.  She leaves these little notes lying around threatening us...”

“What are you going to do?”

Pinkie looked up at the ceiling and said, “…I don’t know…stop her, I guess, but I don’t know how.”

Blue thought for a minute, and then said, “Pink, I might have an idea of how to stop her.  I have to go talk to somepony, but I’ll get back in touch with you before the day is out.”

He started to get up from the booth, when Pinkie grabbed his hoof with hers, “…you…you promise?” she asked, looking pleadingly into his eyes.

“I promise…” he said as he leaned over and kissed his dear friend on the forehead.

As he turned to walk toward the door, Pinkie said, “…oh, and Blue?”

“Yeah, Pink?”

“It’s Pinkie now.  Not Pink, not Pinkamena, just Pinkie.  Those other names are a part of my past.  That past is gone now.”

“Pinkie?” he said contemplatively, “…Pinkie…hmm.  I like it.  It sounds…fun and spontaneous.”

Pinkie smiled as he walked out the door.  She watched out the window as he walked down the town street toward the town hall.

Blue, I never thought I would see you again.  She gently brushed the place on her forehead where he kissed her and her heart swelled with warmth.

I’ve missed you so much…

As she pondered her long-lost friend, the waitress brought the donuts, coffee, and milk.  A few minutes later, the glass door swung open again and in galloped Twilight and Applejack followed by a very distraught Rarity.

“Pinkie…" Applejack asked, “Have y’all been here this whole time?”

“Well, duh, silly.” Pinkie replied.  “It’s like, what, 11:00?”

“Pinkie,” Twilight panted, “You’ve been gone for nearly three hours!”

“What!?” Pinkie replied.  “I…I’m sorry guys, I ran into an old friend and we must of lost track of…”

“No time for that now…” Twilight interrupted, “have you seen Sweetie Belle?”

“Well, yeah…….what’s wrong?” She said.  Her knee started pinching again and she looked to Rarity who looked as though she had been crying for a long time.

“Rarity, what happened?” Pinkie reiterated.

Rarity was so upset she was shaking.  All she could bring herself to say was, “Found…*sniff*…this…on the…*sob*…door…” She gave a crumpled paper to Pinkie who had a sinking feeling in her gut.  “Stuck…to…*sob*…door…knife” Rarity blurted and then broke down completely on the shop’s floor.  Applejack was trying to comfort her friend as Joe appeared from behind the counter, bringing Rarity some cold water.

Pinkie gasped as she opened the crumpled paper.  Red drops and streaks dripped down the paper from a hole that was left in the top.  Apparently, the hole was left by the knife that had stuck the paper to the door of Rarity’s Carousel Boutique.  The letter read:

“To my darling friend Rarity,

I can call you friend, can’t I?  After all, any friend of my dear sister Pinkamena is surely a friend of mine.  I’ve met a new friend today too:  your dear sister, Sweetie Belle.  We are going to have so much fun playing so many games together.  Maybe, someday, you can join us, and we will all have so much fun.  Don’t expect her home tonight.

Don’t expect her at all.

All my love

Your Very Best Friend, Isabelle.”

Pinkie let the paper fall to the floor.  “I just…I just saw her…” she muttered.

“Pinkie,” said Twilight, “this is very important.  When was the last time you saw her?”

“She walked me here.  I saw her leave and go down the street toward Rarity’s.  That was around a quarter to eleven.”

“You’re sure about the time?”

“Yes, I remember looking up at the clock tower.”

Twilight shook her head and sighed.  “Okay, it’s a start.  Pinkie, come with me.  Applejack, take Rarity to Sweet Apple Acres and make sure she’s in a secure place.  I don’t want her going back to the boutique.”

“But…Twilight,” Rarity protested, “I must find Sweetie Belle, I must help…”

“No, Rarity.  Inkie’s targeted you in her letter.  It would be exactly what she wants.  You’ll be safer on the farm.  Big Mac is there along with plenty of ponies who are investigating the fire.  It’s probably the safest place in Ponyville for you right now.”

Rarity began to protest again, but Applejack cut her off. “Twi’s right, Rar.  I’ll get ya' some of Granny Smith’s special reserve cider fer yer nerves, and you’ll be fine.  Just leave findin’ Sweetie Belle to us.”

Rarity sadly conceded and allowed Applejack to walk her out.  Twilight said to Applejack as she was leaving, “Once she’s safe, get Fluttershy and meet us at the boutique.  We’ll start our search there.”

Twilight looked to her pink friend.  “Are you ready?”

Pinkie nodded, and the two left the shop, both mentally preparing themselves for what they might find.